Tsubo-niwa
- A tsubo-niwa is meant to be seen from indoors. Note sliding glass doors.
- Straight-on view of the same garden. Note shitaji or renji windows, water basins, lanterns, and shade-loving plantings, including ferns, Soleirolia soleirolii, and a moss lawn.
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A tsubo-niwa (坪庭/壷庭/つぼにわ) is a type of very small garden in Japan. Tsubo-niwa have been described as "quasi-indoor gardens", and are a key feature of some traditional Japanese homes, such as the machiya (lit. 'townhouse'). They are valued for their beauty and for bringing nature into the building.
Some tsubo-niwa are also impluviums that collect rainwater; others contain groundwater wells. They are traditional locations for temizu (handwashing). They also provide light and ventilation.
As the floorboards in a traditional Japanese building are usually raised above the ground, a niwa is an area without the wooden flooring; the floorboards surrounding a garden may form a veranda called an engawa.